NRL Weekly Watch: Everything to keep an eye on in Round 5

Roosters, Eels kick-off round in Thursday night blockbuster

Round 5 kicks off with a big-time clash between the Roosters – who are fresh off a bye – and Parramatta – who snagged their first win of the season in a golden-point Grand Final rematch last week – at Allianz Stadium.

Drew Hutchison will start at right centre for the tricolours in place of the suspended Joseph Manu with Corey Allan coming onto the interchange.

Trent Robinson has also opted to replace interchange middle Terrell May with Naufahu Whyte.

For Parramatta, Junior Paulo is unavailable due to suspension and will be replaced in the starting lineup by big man Wiremu Greig whilst Jack Murchie (head knock) returns onto the interchange.

The Roosters have beaten Parramatta in six of their past eight and have not lost to them at home since 2008.

Wighton-less Raiders look to avoid 1-4 start versus defending premiers

Canberra have enjoyed a less-than-ideal opening to 2023 and will have their work cut out for them when they face the defending premier Panthers on Friday evening at GIO Stadium.

With Jack Wighton missing the next two weeks through suspension, Matt Frawley shifts to five-eighth with Jamal Fogarty back at seven after missing last week due to illness whilst Jordan Rapana returns onto the wing from suspension in a much-needed boost replacing James Schiller.

Luke Garner (rest) misses this one for Penrith with Scott Sorensen starting in his place in the second-row alongside Zac Hosking who enjoyed a marvellous club debut filling in for Liam Martin (hamstring) in their last-start loss whilst Lindsay Smith comes onto the interchange for his first appearance of the season.

Soni Luke (head knock) is also unavailable and will be replaced by Tyrone Peachey on the interchange who makes his return to the club that he spent five seasons with from 2014 to 2018.

Penrith have beaten Canberra in eight of the last 10 and have not lost to them in Canberra since 2016.

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Premiership hopefuls clash in Accor belter

Fresh off an emotional, golden-point win over Manly, the Rabbitohs turn their attention to a Storm side that have looked uncharacteristically poor to start the season.

Souths will welcome back interchange middle Hame Sele (head knock) who comes in for last week’s debutant Ben Lovett whilst Alex Johnston has also been named despite picking up a cork in the win over Manly.

Craig Bellamy makes just the one change to the side that got over the top of the Wests Tigers on Friday evening with Tom Eisenhuth replacing utility Tyran Wishart on the pine.

Jahrome Hughes’ suspension means rookie half Jonah Pezet will again line-up in the seven jersey.

South Sydney’s record against Melbourne has been eerily subpar over the years having beaten them just six times from 37 attempts.

Last season, they broke a seven-game losing streak against Melbourne.

Can Manly continue their strong start against Newcastle?

Coming off a one-point heartbreak to South Sydney, Manly will look to return to their winning ways when they take on Newcastle in Mudgee on Saturday afternoon.

With Toluta’u Koula (knee) out, Morgan Harper has earnt a call-up into the centres whilst Lachlan Croker (shoulder) returns to start at hooker in place of Karl Lawton who drops back to the reserves.

For the Knights, Kurt Mann (head knock) has been ruled out with Jack Johns replacing him at 13.

Greg Marzhew retains his spot on the wing ahead of the outgoing Dom Young after a blistering two-try, 274-metre performance against Canberra on Sunday.

Manly have won 11 of their past 16 against Newcastle with barnstorming back-rower Haumole Olakau’atu notching a try in both of Manly’s wins over the Knights last year.

Can St. George Illawarra bounce back against the Dolphins in Wollongong?

Having conceded 40 points in back-to-back weeks, pressure is mounting on St. George Illawarra’s coaching staff who will be desperate for a win over the Dolphins on Saturday evening at WIN Stadium.

Anthony Griffin has named the same 17 that was thumped by Cronulla on Sunday night, however, Jack Bird has been named to start at lock with Zane Musgrove on the interchange after the pair switched prior to kick-off last week.

Jack de Belin has been named among the reserves for the first time this season as he eyes a return from a preseason calf injury.

The Dolphins will be without halfback Sean O’Sullivan (pec) and Tesi Niu (knee) but welcome back Isaiya Katoa, Jeremy Marshall-King, and Herman Ese’ese.

Katoa starts at six alongside Anthony Milford, Marshall-King replaces Kodi Nikorima (head knock) at hooker, and Ese’ese comes into the starting side in place of Poasa Fa’amausili who drops back onto the reserves list.

In poetic fashion, South Coast junior Jack Bostock has been named to make his NRL debut on the left wing for the Dolphins in place of the injured Niu.

The Shellharbour junior enjoyed strong SG Ball and Jersey Flegg seasons in the Dragons’ system last season and starred in New South Wales’ under-19s Origin victory midyear.

1st takes on 17th as undefeated Broncos host winless Wests Tigers

A pair of polar opposites face-off at Suncorp on Saturday night with the 4-0 Broncos hosting the 0-4 Wests Tigers in a 1 vs. 17 matchup.

The Broncos remain unchanged after their fiery Battle of Brisbane win over the Dolphins on Friday night.

Tim Sheens, meanwhile, has opted to tinker with his interchange unit in hopes of striking up some winning combinations with Jake Simpkin, Justin Matamua, and Starford To’a replacing Daine Laurie, Alex Seyfarth, and Shawn Blore.

Adam Doueihi remains at the back with Brandon Wakeham and Luke Brooks in the halves.

Running with a pine consisting of a hooker, an outside back, a prop, and a back-rower is an unorthodox strategy from Sheens particularly given the ability of captain and star nine Apisai Koroisau to play 80 minutes effectively but, with zero wins from their first four clashes, he has been unhappy with what he has seen thus far and is stille very much in the experimental stage with this squad.

The Wests Tigers have, however, beaten the Broncos four times in-a-row – including a 48-0 drubbing at Leichhardt in 2020 – and have not lost to them at Suncorp since 2017.

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Warriors travel to the Shire for true litmus test

The Sharks and Warriors will do battle at PointsBet Stadium with both sides looking to solidify their spots in the top eight after promising starts.

Braydon Trindall (ankle) has been named to return for the Sharks after missing last week’s local derby, coming onto the interchange for Oregon Kaufusi (head knock).

For the Warriors, Wayde Egan (head knock) returns at hooker in a timely boost with Freddy Lussick dropping to the reserves whilst Te Maire Martin (head knock) has been ruled out, making way for rookie half Ronald Volkman to slot in at five-eighth alongside Shaun Johnson.

The Sharks have made life tough for the Warriors in recent years having beaten them in 10 of their last 12 meetings and six of the last seven in the Shire.

Underwhelming Cowboys travel to Homebush for Dogs showdown

The Bulldogs and Cowboys cap the round off on Sunday evening at Accor Stadium with both sides looking to improve to 3-2 on the year.

The Dogs welcome Josh Reynolds back into the fold with the soon-to-be 34-year-old replacing Fa’amanu Brown (elbow) in the 14 jumper.

Reynolds debuted for the Dogs in 2011 as a 22-year-old and would go on to play 139 games for the club over seven seasons, earning a reputation as a proud clubman and fan favourite.

Franklin Pele also returns to the side in place of Jayden Tanner on the interchange.

For North Queensland, Murray Taulagi (knee) is out and will be replaced by journeyman outside back Brendan Elliot whilst Peta Hiku returns from suspension to replace Gehamat Shibasaki (hamstring).

They will also be without reigning Rookie of the Year Jeremiah Nanai due to suspension with Heilum Luki promoted to the starting lineup and Mitch Dunn onto the interchange for his first NRL appearance since tearing his ACL over 12 months ago.

Riley Price – son of Queensland legend Steve – makes his NRL debut off the bench in place of James Tamou (foot).

North Queensland have had a strong record against the Bulldogs in recent years having won nine of their past 12 against them and three of the past four at Homebush.

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